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Maskhadov vows more Russian casualties

Chechnya's separatist president said on Sunday his forces would mount a summer campaign against Russian troops.

01 Jun 2003 17:36 GMT

Russians injured in fighting: More such incidents are promised

In written remarksthe president of Chechnya Aslan Maskhadov said his forces had planned a range of operations.

"For this summer and autumn we have a lot prepared," he said.

"I do not think that the enemy will be able to remain, because the guerrillas are very determined."

Maskhadov said the peace proposals put forward by the Russian president Vladimir Putin were aimed at winning public favour before parliamentary elections in December and his own bid next year to seek a second term in the Kremlin.

"I am not going to appeal to the Russian leadership, because it is senseless...Their heads are full of only one thing: The forthcoming elections," he said.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for pro-Moscow Chechen leader Akhmad Kadyrov on Sunday offered a huge reward to anyone who provided information leading to the arrest of Maskhadov.